My First App Marketing Column For ClickZ
Check out my first monthly app marketing column for ClickZ entitled “Five Application Marketing Trends” which provides a summary of the top five application marketing trends impacting digital marketers.
Five Application Trends Coming Out of 2010 CES
Consumer apps were everywhere at the 2010 CES show. Here are five of the application trends for online application marketers that I noted from my attendance at CES:
1) Optimism rules at 2010 CES show. Gary Shapiro, Chief Executive of CES, said the CES show “seemed more upbeat than a year ago, reflecting a return to optimism for the industry,” reports Dean Takahashi, lead writer for GamesBeat by VentureBeat. Attendance at the 2010 International Consumer Electronics Show reportedly reached 120,000 visitors this year, an increase of about 6 percent from last year. Participants were reverberating with the latest device and the latest apps to go with it.
2) Apps will be everywhere. Thanks to Apple, apps are now sexy and offer the consumer more value from their device, and the marketer the ability to enhance their device with little effort, as well as a potential new source of revenue.
- Apps in television set-top boxes: Samsung announced the launch of Samsung Apps, a multi-device application store with content partners, including Blockbuster, USA Today, and others. Samsung plans to make apps available for a range of devices from mobile phones to HDTVs.
- Apps in car electronics: Ford recognizes that users want information on demand. Ford’s Sync feature uses an 8” touch-screen in the dashboard as well as voice commands. You can catch up on Twitter, listen to Internet radio, check movie times and get free online maps with turn-by-turn directions.
- App Store for Netbooks – Intel launched a beta version of its app store, called the Intel AppUp center for netbooks. Currently offering about 100 apps.
3) Integrated, multi-platform app strategies are being considered. Brands should create apps that are integrated across multiple devices: mobile, desktop, social, browser, and other emerging platforms like television set-top boxes and car electronics. Cooliris bases its success on building its app for both mobile and desktop platforms. They were recently selected to develop Media Gallery for the Nexus One Device.
4) There will be a mobile app for almost everything, but adoption outside of iPhone is still low. With the phenomenal growth of the Apple AppStore fueling over 2 billion downloads from some 100,000 plus apps, the race is on from other mobile device companies to woo app developers. (Living in Minnesota, one of my favorites announced at CES is the SmartStart app by Directed for remote starting a car from a smartphone.)
5) Top app marketers will start focusing on improving their key operating metrics. Most app marketers are doing a poor job of developing key operating metrics and reporting surrounding their app marketing initiatives and campaigns. There is a lot of emotional decision making rather than data driven decision making. This appears to be starting to change, as better analytical thinking and tools are starting to take root with top app marketers.
If you identified other app trends, share your thoughts by submitting a comment.
How Pay Per Download Programs Lower Costs for App Developers
Sponsored PostEvery market leading platform, including iPhone, Facebook, Windows, and even browser toolbars, has at least one vendor who will sell a consumer app developer installs on a pay per download or pay per install basis.
Most of the pay per download networks utilize some method of cross promotion to drive additional installs while users are installing or interacting with another app.
So, how do these pay per download programs, like W3i’s Application Network for iOS apps, Windows apps and browser add-ons, compare in cost to other channels for app distribution such as search, display, affiliate, and OEM?
To answer this question, I had W3i’s Media Buyers examine past campaign performance across these difference channels and tallied up our effective cost per download by channel. The following bar graph is based upon the actual campaign performance which was achieved.
As you can see from W3i’s campaign results, pay per download programs can create a meaningful distribution channel while lowering an app developers costs by often as much as one third the cost of other alternatives!
Many app developers have tried search and affiliate programs to promote their app because they are more widely recognized tactics, but have failed to launch and optimize their apps for low cost pay per download networks.
Make sure you ask your pay per download program how they adhere to industry best practices, and what care they take in establishing a valued user experience. The engine that powers W3i’s Application Network, InstallIQ, has received the Truste Trusted Download certification and is white listed by Truste.
Whether you have an iPhone app, a Facebook game, a Windows application, or a browser toolbar, contact W3i to learn how you can launch and optimize your app using W3i’s pay per download program.
This article was written for app developers seeking downloads, however, if you have a website and would like to promote W3i’s applications, go to W3i’s affiliate sign-up form.
The Secrets of a Successful Sales Team
Recently I was interviewed by Britt Johnsen for the latest quarterly issue of ROI Magazine.
UPDATE 11/13/09- The article is no longer available online
I thought Britt did an excellent job summarizing the best practices of Central Minnesota sales leaders in her cover story “The Secrets of a Successful Sales Team”.
The following are the “Top 10 Ways to Build a Sales Team” as summarized by Britt-
1) Hire the right sales people
2) Hire the right sales manager
3) Maintain relationships
4) Check your motivations
5) Standardize approach
6) Develop metrics
7) Make a plan and a strategy to follow it
8) Keep an organized system
9) What makes a great sales team makes any great business
10) Continue learning
For both 5 and 8, Britt cites specific examples I shared with her about W3i’s very talented sales team.
